Ovechkin's focus squarely on moving forward

Ovechkin's focus squarely on moving forwardWhile stopping short of promising a Stanley Cup, Alex Ovechkin said in an exclusive interview with NHL.com Thursday that the Capitals plan to go farther this season.

ARLINGTON, Va. -- For the second straight June, Alex Ovechkin had a friend tell him who won the Stanley Cup. The eight-hour time difference between Moscow and Philadelphia meant he slept through Game 6 of the Final, but he wasn't all that interested in watching it anyway.

"It's not easy because you want to play, you want to stay in the war," Ovechkin told NHL.com. "But the war sometimes is going to be over, and then it's time to relax at that time."

Ovechkin's "war" ended earlier than anyone could have predicted last spring when the Capitals shockingly went down in seven games to the Montreal Canadiens. The Caps' captain admitted in a one-on-one interview Thursday from Kettler Capitals Iceplex that he has thought about that series and what went wrong "just a little bit," but he never allowed himself to dwell on it.

Ovi tackles football

Alex Ovechkin has kicked field goals prior to a Washington Redskins game, become good friends with tight end Chris Cooley and shot a Capital One commercial with quarterback Donovan McNabb.

However, he remains almost clueless when it comes to the rules of American football.

"Nothing," Ovechkin told NHL.com after he was asked how much he knows about football. "The guys tried to explain to me the rules, so right now I know a little bit, but still I have a lot to learn."

What he does know is how much fun it is to be a fan. Ovechkin has been to a couple of Redskins games since arriving in D.C. in 2005. He even purchased and wore to a game one of those old leather helmets that players donned as early as the 1890s.

"I'm a Redskins fan," Ovechkin said. "My first game I was there I liked the atmosphere, I liked being with the fans, to chill with them and watch the game. I think we have pretty similar style of game, a physical game and lots of beautiful plays. But football is such a hard sport and you never know what can happen. It's fun to watch."

-- Dan Rosen

"I was not concentrating on why we lose or what happened because we lose, it's done," Ovechkin said. "You can't think about if we're going to do this and this, maybe we're going to win. It is what it is and we have to forget about it, take the bad experience and make it a good experience for ourselves. I'm looking forward to this year."

Listening to Ovechkin on Thursday, it became obvious that he's not sure what to expect this year.

"I don't want to say, 'OK, this year is going to be Caps year.' I just want to say we're going to do our best to be better and be in Chicago's spot," Ovechkin said. "Again, it's going to be hard and it's going to be a long way, but I think our group of guys that we have are ready."

Even though he can't wait to get back into the playoffs, Ovechkin believes there is plenty to gain from the regular season.

The Capitals are again favored to win the Southeast Division and if their goaltending (22-year-olds Semyon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth) holds up, they could win another Presidents' Trophy.

"(The regular season) is good because you can do some different things, you can make yourself in shape and ready for the playoffs and that's good for our team," Ovechkin said. "I look at the season to win every game, to try to win every game, and be ready for the most important thing why we're here, the playoffs and the Stanley Cup."

Outside of the team concerns, there is the issue of Ovechkin's unique style, which came into question last season when he was called "reckless" on multiple occasions.

Ovechkin was suspended twice -- for two games in November for kneeing Carolina defenseman Tim Gleason and for two games in March for his hit on Chicago defenseman Brian Campbell. He was also fined for "slew footing" Atlanta's Rich Peverley and received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for boarding Buffalo's Patrick Kaleta.

The Campbell hit, seen live early in the first period of an NHL on NBC Game of the Week, drew the most attention and fury from the hockey world. Many wondered out loud if Ovechkin would have to change his style to prolong his career.

"People say different things and if you're going to listen to all people, every man and woman that is going to say something about my game, I'm going to listen, I'm going to listen and then throw it away," Ovechkin said. "I don't know if I'm going to change my game or not. We're going to see on the ice."

That at least sounds like he's leaving the door open, that maybe he could be a different player, safer player this season.

"No," Ovechkin answered quickly when asked if he thinks change is necessary. "I don't think I have to change. I just want to play the game, play as hard as I can."

And, maybe wake up in June well aware of who won the Stanley Cup and where the parade route begins.

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I don't have a crystal ball. Predicting is a real complicated thing. If we stay healthy, have enough depth and get the good goaltending we think we're going to have, you can go all the way. But a lot of things have to happen. There's going to be a lot of teams that think the same thing. Everyone made deals. We're all are optimistic about where we'll end up.

— Rangers general manager Glen Sather after being asked if he's constructed a team that can win the Stanley Cup before their 4-1 win against the Predators on Monday